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Chapter 21
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Pixeletta crossed the rooftop, and blew warm air into her gloved hands, rubbing them together. It was night time in mid-December, and it was only going to get colder in the next couple months.
The League had split into two pairs and a trio, because of safety and efficiency in numbers. For this reason, Mortar Mage accompanied Pixeletta while she took a look at the view from the top of the building.
They were on a skyscraper.
Looking down at the world, Pixeletta said, “What would happen if Adamast dropped a snowball from up here?”
”Doctor Naomi Crescent,” said Mortar Mage, indicating the woman on the projection over the meeting room table. “Or, as Judy may recall, the therapist in charge of Harvey Stone, and the owner of the laptop that Pixeletta had jumped into a couple months ago.”
Another picture came up, showing an old ID belong to Harvey Stone. The man’s short hair and gaunt facial features were accompanied by a prideful look on his face.
Everyone in the supergroup knew both faces already, but Mortar was piecing together their mission for the evening.
He said, “Doctor Crescent went missing about eleven days ago, and nobody reported it until two days ago. Given what Pixeletta was able to tell us, she’s either dead, or waiting to be killed, if the Arachne Regime is indeed behind it. Lucky for her, Walter suggested that she might eventually lead us to her patient back when we formed, and I was able to create a subtle tracker using my magic. That brings us to where we are going tonight.”
The images of Naomi and Harvey moved aside to make room for a few different pictures of a building that stood fifty-eight stories tall.
The main task assigned to Pixeletta was to watch the roof access and the skies for either an attempt of an escape, or a villainous assault. In the days of old the Arachne Regime wasn’t known for its runners, no matter how tough things got. Now, they needed fresh recruits. Some recruits favored their livelihood too much to be beaten up or taken to jail.
She listened through her earpiece for developments.
Downstairs, the other teams were searching the building, both for Doctor Crescent and for any clues as to why she was brought here.
“Huh, that’s odd,” remarked Adamast Cross.
Walter asked, “What is? Oh.”
“A cartoon spider holding up a falling tower. You don’t see that every day.”
“It looks like a poster for an ad they’re trying to push through.”
”Isn’t that one of the biggest home insurance companies in the world?” asked Adamast Cross.
Mortar Mage said, “Yep.”
“And we suspect the Arachne Regime is using their premises for any number of reasons?”
“It would appear so.”
Adamast sat there thinking about it for a moment. Walter tapped his fingers against the stone table.
Princess Undercut said, “If she went missing however long ago, then how was she only reported missing a couple days ago?”
“Doctor Crescent was out of town,” said Walter, still tapping away. “She was on her way to a nice, long vacation involving a certain fetish convention when it happened. She never checked in. Her car was discovered just outside of state lines in a lake, but her body was unaccounted for when the authorities retrieved the vehicle.”
“Somebody planned for her trip then.”
“And it was lucky for us that we were looking for her ever since Pixeletta’s meeting with her own doctor. I’m not sure the news of her disappearance would have reached even us before it was too late, assuming it’s not already too late now.”
“Do you have her location pinpointed then? I can teleport in and grab her, then teleport back out.”
Mortar Mage clicked his remote. The tower lit up in orange and purple. A fuzzy red circle flashed slowly across multiple floors in one spot, then again in another, then another.
And so on.
He said, “That brings us to the next problem. The CEOs of this company must have spent a fortune on this barrier, because it’s still in its experimental stages. Has been for twenty years and still will be for probably another ten or more. I can’t get a perfect trace on anyone inside that building, nor would it be wise for anyone to teleport in or out of it. You could try to just teleport into the front entrance, and end up outside the 33rd floor.”
“Or inside of a wall,” noted War Lagoon.
“It’s arcane in nature, too, but enhanced with technology. So if we can find the computer controlling those enhancements, we’d be able to get in or out in an emergency. Also, if they have access to something like this, then they should also be able to dispel or replace my tracer. Electronic devices, however, still work with limited range and less efficiency.”
“How do you know that?”
“I checked this morning. I posed as an applicant for one of the umbrella companies working for the main insurance firm. It’s also how I managed to acquire floor plans and designated zones within the building. I mean, when in Rome, subterfuge the hell out of it like actually everyone did at that time.”
“Warren.”
“Relax, I didn’t blow anything up looking for answers.”
The images changed to the floor plans and zones that Mortar Mage had brought up.
“I did, however, blow up one of their coffee makers.”
“Warren,” said everyone else.
“I can start tomorrow, they told me.”
“Sector 3 is clear.”
“So is 8.”
During the meeting, nine areas had been pointed out. Nine potential hiding places.
These areas were judged by a number of factors such as employee traffic, because it was doubtful that every person working for this insurance company was either an agent of the Arachne Regime, or an accomplice to kidnapping. Such as utilities going into zones not designated by the main company or its underlings. The power and water lines going in or out of the room for volcano insurance was ruled out, but not the one for damage caused by secret volcano lairs.
Of course, Mortar had then told he was not looking into that one.
That was how he ended up on roof duty along with the girl who was not-quite-grounded for hiding away her earpiece a week ago.
She wasn’t in trouble, but half of the League was unhappy about it.
“Sector 4’s all empty,” said Psi Wizard, “save for a few handyman tools and a dirty magazine.”
Pixeletta asked, “So how is everyone getting past the security cameras? Or are we not worried about them?”
War Lagoon said, “In most businesses, the majority of cameras are pointed at the break rooms and work stations. The few in the hallways are literally that — few and far between. I’ve been using my shadow powers to block them as we pass in the higher levels. The rooms are already dark, so it’s easy enough for the security to miss.”
Psi Wizard said, “Mortar was kind enough to lend me one of his gadgets to trick cameras into repeating a short period of time for at least a single loop. The that’s why the three of us have been taking longer to get through these zones. Oh, silence now, we’re getting close to the next one.”
Except Pixeletta wasn’t worried about the cameras anymore.
She and Mortar Mage were facing a few men in dark armor who had come up to the roof while the men were talking. Their weapons were drawn and aimed at the heroes in no time. She recognized the armor for its spider-based features.
That answered that.
Walter was the one standing now.
He said, “We’ll divide into teams to make things go faster. I doubt we’ll see too many villains waiting for us around every corner. There could very well be none at all, though I doubt that as well. David, Wyatt and I will begin at the bottom. While Wyatt distracts the security at their station, the rest of you will get into the stairwell and make your way to the top. Judy and Warren, you’re to be on guard duty on the roof. Use non-lethal force on any Arachne Regime agents or other villains you might see. Jeff and Tatiana, you’ll be starting at the top and working your way down.”
“You don’t want me on the team downstairs?” Mortar asked.
“I don’t want to wake up one day and find our base on top of a volcano.”
“I wouldn’t do that. Though, I did include a small neighborhood of lairs when I built a model volcano for school one year.”
“Any questions about tonight’s mission? Anyone?”
“Still no idea why the school was evacuated that weekend.”
Nearly everyone sighed quietly and shook their heads.
“Right,” said Walter, “well then, let’s move out.”
“Viva la Dallevan!” exclaimed Princess Undercut.
Adamast Cross hitched a brow at her. Psi Wizard and Pixeletta cheered.
Thus was the birth of their rally cry.
The Arachne agents hadn’t yet fired, but they were laughing among themselves. They were predators who happened upon their prey.
Or so they thought.
Pixeletta’s hands were tingling. She hoped Mortar was just as ready as she was.
She ducked to the side. Out of one hand, Pixeletta shot enough electricity to shock, and barely burn, a normal person. The current hit the agent on the left. It did nothing except destroy a radio, and now laser weapons were firing.
Heat insulation. Great.
She dodged forward while charging her other hand. Most materials that worked against fire or electricity had a limit, or an opening.
Pixeletta managed to get to the side of the Arachne trio, at which point she punched at their feet. The electricity she charged up to that point exploded. It knocked her back on her rear. It also sent the three men flying along with the chips taken out of their armor. The Arachne agents hit the rooftop and slid close to the edge. Maybe a little too close.
Mortar Mage, who’d been throwing fireballs for little effect, threw a small white ball at the men before they could get up. It blew apart, turning into smoke.
He helped Pixeletta up on her feet. “Nice call with that attack of yours. Don’t get too close now, not until the smoke clears.”
“What is that?” she asked him.
“What happened up there, you two?” asked War Lagoon.
Mortar Mage said, “That was an alchemical smoke bomb I wanted to try. It renders plastics and related materials heavy by adding a dozen pounds per square foot.”
The smoke cleared to reveal the men grunting agonizingly to even move.
“Now their armor should weigh a few hundred pounds. Not to worry; it won’t kill them. Let me remove their weapons and use a sleep spell on them,” Mortar said.
“On whom? Whose armor?” asked Psi Wizard.
Pixeletta said, “Oh, just a few Arachne Regime soldiers. Nothing to worry about.”
“Shit,” said Princess Undercut.
“No really, we’re OK.”
“It’s Doctor Crescent; we found her. Oh my god. She’s been banged up badly. It looks like they broke her. W-what?”
There was only silence for a time, save for panicked breathing over the earpiece.
“War, is that . . . ? Is that a bomb?”
War Lagoon said, “It is, yes. Don’t move her.”
“I’m looking for the timer, or some sort of detonation device.”
“She is the detonation device. If we move her, there’s no telling how much damage it’ll do to the tower, but I’m guessing it’ll be a lot, and we are right in the middle of it.”
“So what do we do?”
Walter said, “Would this be a good time to mention that we might have found a console connected to some arcane devices? This looks a lot like something Mortar Mage said to look out for. Adamast and Psi Wizard are dealing with a few more Arachne agents guarding it right now. Oops.”
“What floor are you on?” asked Pixeletta.
“The twenty-third. Uh-oh. There’s a bomb here too, and it’s timed. There’re only two minutes to diffuse it. Somebody planned this. I’m trying to take care of the bomb now. Everyone else get out of here if you can.”
War Lagoon shouted, “Walter, you’ve never directly handled a bomb before in your life. It could blow up any second if you make a wrong move.”
“I’d be there in seconds if not for the arcane barrier,” said Mortar Mage.
“Are the computers on inside of the building?” asked Pixeletta. “Are they?”
“Most of them should be. Wait, what are you doing? Pixeletta!”
She ran. Pixeletta had as much of a chance of succeeding as she did of dying if both bombs went off. She breathed, she stilled her tears and any inhibitions about heights. The roof was about to run out beneath her feet.
Pixeletta jumped, arms spread out.
No, she dove.
All she needed was one computer. Just one. She reached out with that half of her power, and hoped it would latch before her eyes could spot it. Hoped it would latch before the ground caught her.
Then, the next thing Pixeletta knew, she was floating, not falling. Knowing time was short, she trusted that she made it inside of a computer, and just moved through the network. So many systems were password protected, and hardly any gave her reference as to where in the tower she was. None of them were the one computer that Walter had mentioned.
However, she found the monitor station after peeking behind some of the password locks, and used it to find the right floor.
Pixeletta popped out of a computer, and ran some more. She didn’t care if the door she used set off any alarms, be they loud or silent, because she still had a distance to close to get to the designated area where the arcane device had been hidden.
She heard the fighting. She stepped through the next door. Pixeletta jumped over someone, and reached one more time. Then the search was on for how to shut off the barrier around the tower.
“Pixeletta! War and Princess Undercut got company!” Walter shouted. “Oh, why are the wires all lime green?”
Meanwhile, Pixeletta found the program’s main code. Stopping it was like pulling a big plug from a stone-age, well, computer.
She jumped out of the console. “I did it.”
There was a sound of glass breaking amidst weapons going off.
Princess Undercut said, “Thank you, swee—.”
And then static.
Mortar Mage showed up the next second through a portal, and took a few glowing swipes at the bomb.
Everything stood still.
Comments
"Everything stood still."
oh boy!
Someone knew they were coming?
The way doctor Cresent was wired it is apparent someone knew they were coming. Or did they? Or was she wired for anyone trying to free her?
So, why did everything come to a stop? Huh? Need an answer soon.
Others have feelings too.